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Thursday, January 17, 2013

Can I drink alcohol after a stroke?

The effects of alcohol may put you at further
risk after a stroke, and you will need to
review your drinking and consider cutting
down, especially if you were a heavy drinker
beforehand. There are a number of factors you need to consider – talk to your GP for more advice:

Following a stroke you may be more
vulnerable to alcohol and its negative
effects such as sleep disturbance, poor
balance and impaired speech. Alcohol
may worsen mood swings and depression,
which are common after a stroke. It may
affect your memory and thinking, making
you forgetful and less able to make sound
judgements.

If you are out after dark, you should
remember that alcohol can reduce night
vision by 25 per cent and slow down
reaction times by 10-30 per cent.

Alcohol acts on the kidneys, creating
excessive amounts of urine, which may
make you dehydrated.

If you are
less active than before your stroke, you
will need to reduce your calorie intake
(especially these ‘empty’ calories) to avoid
becoming overweight. If you are less active and not absorbing
calcium properly, your bones may become
weakened.

Drinking alcohol may be harmful when
taking medicines that are sometimes
needed after a stroke. Ask your GP or
pharmacist about whether you may drink
at all and if so, what the sensible limits
are for you. You may be advised to stop
drinking for the first month or two after
starting a new medicine so that your body
can get used to its effects.

If you do drink you should ask at your
anticoagulant clinic about your alcohol
intake and how much you can safely drink on
a regular basis.

Drinking alcohol after a stroke due to bleeding in the brain (a haemorrhagic stroke) could put you at particular risk. You will need
to avoid alcohol for at least the first three
weeks, and be advised by your doctor after
that.

2 comments:

Let me share you something. Alcohol contains substances that damages our nerve cells. The moment you have been on stroke, a lot of nerve cells have been damaged. For you to take alcohol again after such a condition is a big NO.